Photo: Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images

Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj made an awkward peace on Tuesday during the 2013 Winter TCA tour in Pasadena, California, where reporters once again asked them to revisit their now-infamous “American Idol” feud.

“Time heals all wounds,” Carey said when asked about how the two divas quashed their beef. Minaj, who reportedly had a blank look on her face for much of the event, jokingly added, “And we watched my [sex] tape,” alluding to the reported bedroom video that has been whispered about for several years. “We’re professionals. Have you ever had an argument with someone you work with?”

Carey called the reports of the dispute “convoluted,” and said it was a distraction from the show and the contestants. “It is what it is,” she said, calling the panel, which also includes country star Keith Urban and sole original judge Randy Jackson, a “passionate” group. “[‘Idol’ is] bigger than all that… bigger than some stupid, trumped-up thing.”

She also noted that the pair collaborated on the “ironically” titled song “Up Out My Face,” which appeared on her 2009 album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. “It was one of my favourite songs,” she said. “And I did feel like she was going to go very far and still have that feeling.”

The make-nice look was in contrast to an interview with Barbara Walters that aired on Monday night, during which Carey said she hired extra security after the spat because she felt “Idol” had become an “unsafe” work environment.

Asked if the battle was cooked up to goose interest in the show, Fox president of alternative programming Mike Darnell said, “It’s authentic… they disagree about a lot of the talent. It’s not just the girls, it’s everybody.”

Minaj tried to snuff the flames at times as well, noting that she says nice things about Carey all the time. “She’s one of my favourite artists of all times,” she said. “She’s really shaped a generation of singers. To be on a panel with her, it’s kind of crazy… All the singers come in aspiring to be Mariah, in terms of talent and in terms of career length.”

The two women, who sat one seat away from each other with Urban in between, weren’t all unicorns and rainbows, though. When Mariah referred to the fight as “one-sided,” Minaj quickly hit back, saying, “No, it wasn’t.”